After a dominant rookie year, Connor Zilisch's title bid withered away at the last minute in Phoenix, as Jesse Love snubbed away the championship. The teenager was subsequently left discontent with how the night in Phoenix unraveled and shared a one-word message on his social media, showcasing the extent of the loss he suffered despite his impressive results all year long.After making four race starts in the Xfinity Series in 2024, Zilisch was given the heads-up for a full-time season in 2025. Moreover, in his third race start of 2025, he won the race and laid the foundation for the results that were bound to come.The Charlotte-born driver then went on to win nine more races and lined himself up as the championship favorite. However, come Phoenix, his championship bid soon dwindled as the No. 88 car seemingly lacked pace and allowed Jesse Love to take away the championship trophy.Subsequently, statistics about the 2025 Xfinity Series season made rounds on social media, where Zilisch's clear domination could be interpreted year-round. This led the teenager to write a one-word reply to the stat, as he wrote:"Welp."Connor Zilisch was the outright pace setter for a host of races this year."This one's gonna sting": Connor Zilisch was left upset after his Xfinity Series championship loss in PhoenixConnor Zilisch driving the No. 88 JRM Chevrolet at the Phoenix Raceway during the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race - Source: ImagnConnor Zilisch was regarded as one of the best rookies to hit the NASCAR scene recently. His elated results had helped him arrive at Phoenix as the favorite to take the championship home.However, with things not going as planned and him having to settle for a second-place finish in the standings, he said after the race (via NASCAR's official website):"I mean, I came into the weekend and I told my entire team we got to give it our 100 percent this week, and as long as we walk out of this place knowing we did that, I'll be proud of us. We did that today, and we fought all day long and threw everything we had at it, but, unfortunately, our WeatherTech Chevrolet, we just didn't quite have what we needed. It doesn't take away from anything we've done this year. Our car's been as fast as Xfinity Mobile all year long, and I'm so proud of these guys.""It's just you work all year long and you bust your ass for 33 weeks, and I feel like we've done the best job we could all year long, and we just didn’t have it today. We have nothing to hang our heads about, but this one's gonna sting."Despite the championship failure, Zilisch is already locked in to a move to the Cup Series for 2026, as he will replace Daniel Suarez at Trackhouse Racing.